136 The CORÂN
LXVII.—SURA II., v. 40[40-42].

سورة البقرة

يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُواْ بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ
وَآمِنُواْ بِمَا أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِآيَاتِي ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ
وَلاَ تَلْبِسُواْ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُواْ الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Oh Children of Israel! remember My favour wherewith I have favoured you, and fulfil My covenant,—I likewise will fulfil your covenant; and fear Me, 
and believe in that which I have revealed, attesting the truth of the (Scripture) which is with you: and be not the first to reject the same; and sell not my revelation for a small price; 
and clothe not the truth with error, and do not conceal the truth while ye know it.

"That which is with you, i.e. the Tourât or Pentaeuch."—Jelalooddeen.

At Medîna, the Corân, just as in the Suras revealed at Mecca, continues to attest the truth of the Scripture in the hands of the Children of Israel. But the Children of Israel would not give the testimony in his favour which Mahomet desired them to give, and probably believed that they ought to have given. Therefore he exhorts them not to pervert the truth, nor to hold back any part of it.

The Christians, on similar grounds, accuse the Jews of misinterpreting their Scriptures, and not acknowledging the prophecies of the Messiah as fulfilled in Jesus: though they, as much as the Jews, implicitly
TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 137

believe in the Jewish Scriptures. A close analogy to the accusation in the text.

The expression, "selling the truth for a small price," is frequently used in a similar sense with respect to others than the Jews.—See, e.g., Suras II., v. 16; III., v. 76[77]; IX, v. 10; XVI., v. 95.

 LXVIII.—SURA II., v. 53.

سورة البقرة

وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

And when We gave Moses the book and the distinction (between good and evil,— Forcân,)—if haply ye might be directed.

"The Book, i.e., the Tourât."—Baidhâwi and Jelalooddeen.

The Pentateuch is here styled Al Forcân, the same term which is applied to the Corân.— See Art. XLVIII.

LXIX.—SURA II., v. 75.

سورة البقرة

أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَن يُؤْمِنُواْ لَكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلاَمَ اللّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِن بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

Ah! do ye indeed earnestly desire that they should believe in you, and verily a party amongst them hear the word of God; then they pervert it after they have understood it, knowingly.

The people spoken of are still the Children of Israel. "That they should believe, viz., the Jews,"—